This overview summarizes the estimates of monetary and non-monetary poverty and the profile of
the poor in Angola based on the recently released household budget survey, Inquérito sobre
Despesas, Receitas e Emprego de Angola (IDREA 2018/2019).
The last household budget survey for the measurement of poverty in Angola was the Inquérito
Integrado sobre o Bem-Estar da População (IBEP) undertaken in 2008. Given that the two surveys,
IDREA and IBEP, are not comparable for measuring the change in the monetary poverty rate, the
focus of this report is on understanding the geographic and socio-economic characteristics of
poverty in Angola, for the purpose of informing the design and targeting of more effective poverty
alleviation policies as well as providing a new baseline for the monitoring of progress toward the
reduction of poverty and the boosting of shared prosperity in the country

Angola is a vast country covering an area of 1.247 million square kilometres
with a long coastline and central plateau that borders Namibia, Botswana,
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its total population was
estimated at 32 971 101 inhabitants in 2020,1 representing an increase of
more than two million people compared to 2018 (30.81 million). The main
cities are Luanda (the capital), Huambo, Benguela, Lobito and Lubango. The
country is renowned for its status as the second largest oil producer in Africa.

Angola’s economy is highly concentrated around the oil industry, which comprises
about a third of its GDP and around 95 percent of exports, despite the global
downturn and decrease in oil prices.1 Oil revenues and oil-backed loans have
allowed for large-scale state investments in the construction and rehabilitation of
public infrastructure, including the implementation of an ambitious housing
programme to meet the country’s massive housing deficit, which is growing rapidly
in a context of rapid urbanisation. Currently Angola is said to be one of the fastest
urbanising countries in Africa with more than 62 percent of its population living in
cities.2

Angola’s economy is highly concentrated around the oil industry, comprising about
45 percent of its GDP and around 95 percent of exports1. Oil production
continues to be the catalyst for growth in Angola. Oil revenues and oil-backed
loans have allowed for large-scale state investments in the construction and
rehabilitation of public infrastructures, as well as the implementation of an
ambitious housing programme to meet the country’s massive housing deficit in a
context of rapid urbanisation. Currently Angola is said to be one of the fastest
urbanising countries in Africa with about 62 percent of its population living in
cities2.

Angola is an oil-rich nation located in southern Africa, on the Atlantic coast of
Africa, and bordered by Namibia, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ ruling party, the People’s Movement
for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), holds a strong majority, having taken 72
percent at the August 2012 polls. The country has come a long way since its civil
war ended in 2002. In 12 years, Angola has managed to transform its war-torn
economy into the fifth biggest in Africa. This growth has been mainly fuelled by a
doubling of oil production, turning Angola into Sub-Saharan Africa’s second largest
oil producer after Nigeria. Rising oil revenues have allowed for large-scale state
investments, mainly in the construction and rehabilitation of public infrastructures
such as roads, schools, hospitals as well as housing, leading to a massive
construction boom and double digit GDP growth rates which reached 23.4
percent in 2007 up from 3.3 in 2003. Growth has in turn been enhanced by
economic reforms and prudent macro-economic policymaking